History of architecture Exam 2: reading questions Islamic Architecture

What role does a mihrab serve in a mosque? What Christian building element does it resemble? How does it differ?

-The concave mihrab creates a niche in the qibla face that magnifies and bounces sound back, thus creating an acoustic device as well as a focal point used for submission in prayer. -It is like the altar

What function does a mosque serve? How is a mosque oriented? The mosque is organized enough specific way; describe this organization.

-the primary place of worship -It is associated with islam which evolved from several sources:House of the Prophet at Medina, Christian churches, and perhaps the audience halls of persian kings.

What are three regional mosque types and where are they located?

1) columnar or hypostyle mosques favored in Arabia, North Africa, and Spain 2) iwan mosques popular in Iran and Central Asia, which consist of a rectangular court flanked by large, often vaulted spaces, or iwans 3) large, centrally organized, domed-space mosques found in Turkey.

What are the four design strategies used for the ornamentation of mosques?

1) the repetition of an architectural element like an arch 2) geometric manipulations like rotated and interlocking polygon 3) organic growth in the form of plantlike foliation 4) calligraphy.

What are the names of the structures used in the first three levels of worship and what purpose do they serve?

Discrete structures are built for the first three levels of worship. 1)For daily prayer, small numbers of worshipers use the modestly sized MASJID , containing a prayer niche, but no facilities for preaching. 2)For universal corporate worship, a Muslim town requires an IDGAB, a very large, unroofed open space with a long prayer wall on one side. 3)The residents of a neighborhood attend the most well-known Islamic religious structure: the congregational or Friday mosque, where the principal or weekly service is held, hence its naming for a day of the week.

What is the importance of the minarets on each corner of the mosque ?

Four towers, or minarets, provided elevated platforms at the corners of the site from which a caller (muezzin) could summon the faithful to prayer.